2014 Safety at Sea, USNA
* Note items in “red” …you will need that information later!
Fuel
Heat
And a
Chemical
chain
reaction
Remove one of these, and you can put out a fire!
Oxygen

Materials which leave an Ash:
 Wood, cotton, fiberglass, cushion, sails

Effective extinguishers:
 Water (Caution – load limits!)
 Dry Chemical
 Carbon Dioxide

Concerns:
 Fire may be deeply embedded in materials and
require “overhaul.” Ok, what is overhaul?
This was a covered marina made of wood!
See the boats?
BoatU.S. Insurance

Flammable liquids (things that boil):
 Oil, gasoline, resin, paint, kerosene, diesel

Effective extinguishers:



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Sodium Bicarbonate (baking soda, NOT flour!)
Dry Chemical
Carbon Dioxide
Halon replacements
Concerns:
 Water may spread the fire!
 Liquids with high flashpoint may re-ignite (keep
covered to avoid vapor release)
Would the fire extinguishers on your boat put
this fire out? How hot is it on the bow of this
boat…could you stand there?
BoatU.S. Insurance
Where would you go if this
happened to you sailing offshore?
Could you abandon your boat in
two (2) minutes?
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How would you get out of this boat if
you were asleep in the v-berth? Do you
think they had a smoke or CO detector?
BoatU.S. Insurance

Electrical Fires (shorts):
 Wire insulation and adjacent materials

Tactics:
 Break circuit, turn off main switch (first step!),
have circuit protection
 Then extinguish according to what materials are
involved
 Water is not a choice on Class C fires

Concerns:
 Shock hazard (is the power off – are you sure?)
Shore Power
Connections
This is one of the most
common types of electrical
fires boaters experience at a
marina.
So, do you have a procedure to
disconnect your shore power?
Turn off dock’s breaker to
the pedestal and then the
main AC breaker in boat;
2)
Unplug shore power at
pier;
3)
Disconnect the shore
power from boat
receptacle;
4)
Reverse the process when
hooking into shore power
and remember to verify
polarity.
1)
Photo by - jbacchi
BoatU.S. Insurance

Fires caused by burning metals:
 Flares are the main concern
 Nickel Metal Hydride batteries also (examples are
PlayStation devices)

Tactics:
 Get it off the boat
 May use material to try to cool, isolate and
smother

Concerns:
 Does not play nice with water!

55% Poorly installed electrical systems (C)
 30% DC shorts and wiring
 12% DC engine voltage regulator
 4% AC appliance/heater
 4% AC shore power system
 2% AC wiring/panel
 2% DC battery charger

24% Engine and Transmission Overheating
 19% engine overheating
 2% turbocharger overheat
 2% transmission overheat
 1% backfire

8% Gasoline fuel leak
 95% of fuel-related fires involve gasoline

1% Galley stoves
 Declining compared to when alcohol stoves were popular


(this happened to me – alcohol stove fire)
12% Unknown or miscellaneous
BoatU.S. Insurance
BoatU.S. Insurance

Sodium Bicarbonate
 Low toxicity
 Inexpensive
 Excellent for Class B
 Messy clean up
Inexpensive Portables

Tri-Class or Multipurpose Dry
Chemical
 No worry about selecting the right
extinguisher
 Forms a crust on Class A fires, making
clean up challenging
 Need to turn upside down and shake it
to loosen the power on a regular basis!
 Needs to be recharged at least yearly
(even if not used)!
Tri-Class Portable

Carbon Dioxide
 Cools and suffocates
 Pretty ineffective - Large

extinguishers!
 Leaves no residue
Halon and its
derivatives
 Halon 1211 and 1301
cannot be bought, but
can be refilled
 Halotron 1 is a
replacement
Halotron Portables

FM-200 Halon
replacement
Mounted in the
engine room
Heat causes “stinger”
to burst
Activated at 175 deg
F
From 25 to 150 cu ft
Stinger FM-200


Have extinguishers located in all occupied spaces of the boat, cockpit,
and the engine room.
Fight a fire quickly; fires are virtually impossible to put out if given a head
start.
 Fire volume can double every 7 seconds!!!!

Use extinguishers to allow you to escape from below.
 How could you get out of every stateroom, head or compartment if the main
hatch was blocked?

PASS – Pull-Aim-Squeeze-Sweep (Aim extinguisher low at base of fire
and sweep across base of flames.).

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Install extinguishers above floor - keep them
away from water!
Have a back-up person assist ; close at hand
with the extra extinguishers!
Use a flashlight and stay oriented;
Stay low - avoid smoke (better visibility);
 Smoke kills more people in fires than actual burns.
Do a dry run, with a knit cap and try to get out of
your boat without using the main hatch.

Have an exit plan!

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Have a fire escape plan and practice it;
Install CO and smoke alarms in each
compartment;
Remember, CO is the silent killer!
Change your smoke alarm and CO alarm
batteries yearly (at least);
Make sure everyone knows how to call for
help;
Have fire extinguishers readily available and
make sure everyone knows how to use them.


Questions?
Ok, time to go outside and have some fun:
 1) Fire Safety Trailer;
 2) Electrical Short Simulator;
 3) Fire Extinguisher Practical Exercise.